Peter's Blog

Which Snowflake Will Trigger the Financial Avalanche?

Loose monetary policy has dumped billions of dollars of easy money into the world’s financial systems over the last eight years, pumping up a whole slew of bubbles. We are still on the upside of the business cycle, with stock markets hitting record levels it seems like on a daily basis. But if history serves […]

Tax Cuts Without the Reform

Last week, the House passed its version of “tax reform,” along party lines. The final vote came in at 227-205, with the entire Democratic caucus opposing the bill. Thirteen Republicans joined the Democrats in voting no. The debate now shifts to the Senate where things will likely become more contentious. Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has […]

US Consumer Debt Continues to Balloon

Last summer, US Global Investors CEO Frank Holmes called debt “the mother of all bubbles.” That bubble continues to blow up. US consumer debt increased even more than expected in September. According to data released by the Federal Reserve, total credit rose by $20.8 billion, an annualized rate of 6.6%. Analysts had expected an increase in […]

Outgoing German Finance Minister Warns Global Policies Are Causing Bubbles

We live in a world full of bubbles. We’ve reported extensively on the stock market bubble, the student loan bubble, and the auto bubble. We even told you about a shoe bubble. Last summer, US Global Investors CEO Frank Holmes called global debt “the mother of all bubbles.” So what happens when these bubbles start to burst? In a recent interview, […]

Hartford and America: Suffering the Consequences of Political Malfeasance

What happens when government officials spend with virtually no restraint and they don’t have a printing press that can crank out more money? Hartford, Connecticut. Last week, both S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Hartford’s credit rating deeper into junk status. According to a Reuters report, the downgrade puts Hartford near the bottom […]

Why Is the Retail Sector Struggling? People Are Broke – Especially Millennials

When we reported on the Toys R Us bankruptcy, we argued that it wasn’t just about shifting shopping patterns away from brick and mortar to online companies. A recent article on TechCo complaining that millennials are broke backs up our assertion.

Mortgage Lenders Loosening Credit Standards as Home Prices Spiral Upward

Remember back when mortgage lenders loosened credit standards making it easier to get a loan and blew up a giant housing bubble? That’s happening again. According to a report released by Fannie Mae, lenders facing lower profit margins are trying to expand the borrower pool. Facing constrained mortgage demand and a negative profit margin outlook, […]

Mother of All Bubbles: Global Debt May Be Understated By $13 Trillion

The US national debt was in the news last week as Pres. Trump signed a spending bill that raised the debt ceiling limit for the next three months and added approximately $318 billion to the national debt. Officially, the US debt surged to to $20.16 trillion. Of course, the actual figure for government unfunded liabilities runs even […]